On this month’s podcast, NACCHO Government Affairs team members Kerry Allen and Lauren Mastroberardino recap key provisions in the omnibus spending bill Congress passed at the end of 2022. Most exciting to NACCHO, the bill reauthorized the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program, which once operationalized will offer loan repayment to public health professionals who agree to serve three years at a local, state, or Tribal health department. They also reflect on the beginning of the 118th Congress, highlighting recent committee hearings and votes in the House related to rolling back COVID-19 related policies. Kerry and Lauren also talk about NACCHO’s 2023 Federal Legislative and Policy Agenda and remind listeners about the upcoming virtual Public Health on the Hill event on March 6-10.

Later in the program, Victoria Freire, NACCHO’s Senior Program Analyst of Rural Health, spoke to Ron Sprong, the Community Health Manager, Mental Health First Aid instructor and Peer Recovery Specialist at Greene County Health Department in Carrolton, Illinois.

 NACCHO has just launched its Rural and Frontier Public Health section of the website, and in recognition of the unique challenges that rural and frontier health departments have, in today’s interview Sprong discusses rural health department’s activities in operations, community health and emergency preparedness. 

In this week’s podcast, Kerry Allen welcomes a new member to the NACCHO Government Affairs team, Lauren Mastroberardino. Kerry and Lauren provide an update on mid-term election outcomes and implications for the upcoming year, which will see divided government in Washington. Congress is back for a lame-duck session, and Kerry and Lauren cover ongoing Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations considerations. They also discuss NACCHO’s advocacy to pass the Public Health Loan Repayment Program in end-of-year legislation, including how members can take action to urge their members of Congress to support the program. They celebrate the CDC’s recent announcement of over $3 billion in first-of-its-kind funding directly to local, state, and territorial jurisdictions to support public health workforce and infrastructure. Finally, the team encourages listeners to save the date for NACCHO’s Virtual Hill Week, which will be held March 6-10.   

Later in the program, Hassanatu Blake, NACCHO’s Director of Health Equity and Social Justice, speaks with Dr. Simbo Ige, Assistant Commissioner for the Bureau of Health Equity and Capacity Building at the New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene about the continued need to push health equity in practice despite the wind down of federal funding for COVID programming. As our country continues to reflect on the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hassanatu and Dr. Ige discuss how local health departments are rethinking how health inequities are addressed in public health practice.  They also talk about the $2.25 billion Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Initiative to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities Among Populations at High-Risk and Underserved, Including Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations and Rural Communities monumental grant and how it has supported New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s systematic approaches to addressing health inequities. Lastly, Dr. Ige shares with listeners crucial information to follow and support New York City Department of Health’s equity work.  

In this week’s podcast, NACCHO Government Affairs team members Adriane Casalotti and Kerry Allen provide an update on the status of federal funding and discuss NACCHO’s priorities for a possible Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus appropriations bill. They also review the progress made on legislation to establish a public health loan repayment program, and ongoing NACCHO efforts to get that across the finish line before the 117^th Congress ends, including an upcoming opportunity for NACCHO members to engage with their federal lawmakers in support of the program. Adriane describes the implications of and discussion around the recent CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendations on the COVID-19 vaccine. Finally, the team reminds listeners that many public health policy decisions will hinge on the outcome of the upcoming midterm elections and urges everyone to vote.

Later in the program, we talk about one of the latest outbreaks – monkeypox (MPX) – with Dr. Philip Huang, Director of the Dallas County Health and Human Services, Andy Meléndez Salgado, MPH, Manager of the Public Health Emergencies and Environmental Health Unit of the New Orleans Health Department, and Dr. Judith Shlay, Associate Director of the Public Health Institute at Denver Health. We discuss how local health departments are working to reach populations at risk for MPX and how lessons learned from COVID-19 response are helping local jurisdictions to address MPX.

In this week’s podcast, NACCHO Government Affairs team members Adriane Casalotti and Kerry Allen catch up on the busy summer, which started out at NACCHO 360, our annual conference. They cover two recent “wins” in administrative advocacy: the CDC public health workforce funding opportunity and a repeal of the so-called “public charge” rule NACCHO had opposed during the last administration. They also discuss the Inflation Reduction Act, which expanded no-cost vaccine coverage for adults in Medicare and Medicaid and made $369 billion in climate change investments. Finally, they update on the current state of play in Washington as Congress works on a way forward on a short-term funding bill that will kick negotiations on full fiscal year 2023 appropriations to after the mid-term elections. 

In recognition of National Preparedness Month, the podcast also features a discussion about the future of CDC’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) program, which marks its 20th year in 2022. Ben Robison, Health Commissioner for the Wood County Health Department in Ohio, joins the podcast to talk about the importance of PHEP locally, how the program might evolve in the future, and how you can get involved in advancing PHEP's evolution in your jurisdiction.

In this week’s podcast, NACCHO Government Affairs team members Adriane Casalotti and Kerry Allen discuss the much-anticipated funding opportunity from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Strengthening the US Public Health Infrastructure, Workforce, and Data Systems.” They also summarize recent developments in Congress on gun safety legislation and the ongoing stalemate around supplemental COVID-19 funding.

The podcast also features a discussion about the upcoming Inaugural Public Health Law Practitioners Convening that will be held on August 17-19 in Chicago. The conference theme is “Law, Policy, and Equity in Public Health Practice.” Podcast guests are Gerard “Jerry” Giuliano, Director of the Office of Public Health Legal Affairs for the Nassau County Department of Health, and NACCHO’s Director for Public Health Law and Policy Geoffrey Mwaungulu, Jr. Law and policy practitioners are integral to state, tribal, local, and territorial public health practice. They develop and interpret public health authorities, enforce regulations, and leverage the law to positively impact community health. To support the critical role of public health law and policy professionals, CDC and NACCHO have organized this inaugural convening for practitioners.

In this week’s episode of Podcast from Washington, NACCHO Government Affairs team members Ian Goldstein and Adriane Casalotti talk through the status of FY2023 appropriations bills. They also discuss the fate of a COVID-19 emergency supplemental spending bill as COVID-19 cases rise across the country. Finally, they examine a new NACCHO report on the state of local vector control capacity in the U.S.  

Later in the program, Ian spoke with African American Infant and Maternal Mortality Initiative (AAIMM) Outreach and Engagement Director for LA County Public Health and NACCHO Maternal Child Health, Infectious Disease, and Preparedness (MIP) Workgroup member Adjoa Jones. They talk about her role in the community and the maternal child health program in LA County. They also examine NACCHO’s efforts to strengthen and support the maternal child health program nationwide. 

In this week’s episode of Podcast from Washington, NACCHO Government Affairs team members Ian Goldstein and Kerry Allen discuss the release of NACCHO’s 2020 Forces of Change report that shows changes in public health trends. They also summarize NACCHO’s response to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposed rules to prohibit menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. Finally, they recap Congressional budget hearings held over the last week, and Moderna’s request to authorize its COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 and under.  

Later in the program, Ian speaks with NACCHO Director of Research Tim McCall to hear more about the new 2020 Forces of Change report. They cover how the report is put together through local health department outreach, and a few interesting findings the report uncovers. Finally, they discuss how to access the 2020 Forces of Change report and how users can request datasets to conduct additional analysis. 

In this week’s episode of Podcast from Washington, NACCHO Government Affairs team members Ian Goldstein and Kerry Allen celebrate National Public Health Week. During National Public Health Week NACCHO recognizes and thanks public health professionals from across the country who are vital to the health and safety of the communities they serve. They discuss the President’s FY2023 Budget Request and the $10 billion COVID-19 emergency supplemental currently under negotiation in Congress (see more below). 

Later in the program, in recognition of National Public Health Week, Ian Goldstein speaks with Health Director for the Granville-Vance Public Health District and NACCHO President Lisa Macon Harrison. They discuss the importance of National Public Health Week and how NACCHO can better support public health professionals. They also discuss how local health departments can engage and collaborate with partners to support public health and health equity. 

In this week’s Podcast from Washington, NACCHO Government Affairs team members Ian Goldstein and Kerry Allen summarize the status of the PREVENT Pandemics Act. They also discuss the administration’s urging of Congress to pass additional COVID-19 emergency supplemental funding. Finally, they cover a study released by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health that identified reports of harassment across local health departments. 

Later in the program, in recognition of World TB Day, Ian speaks with Deputy Public Health Director and Director of Community Health Services for Genesee and Orleans Counties Brenden Bedard. They discuss tuberculosis (TB) programs in his rural jurisdiction that contains a large population of migrant workers and the need to develop partnerships to address TB needs in the community. Brenden also describes how COVID-19 affected his health department’s TB program. 

In this week’s episode of Podcast from Washington, NACCHO government affairs team members Adriane Casalotti and Ian Goldstein discuss the House passage of a $1.5 trillion omnibus bill that will fund the government through the rest of fiscal year 2022, which ends in September. They also discuss policy riders that made their way into the bill, including the classification of synthetic nicotine as a tobacco product. 

Later in the program, Ian speaks with Dr. Mary Pittman, President and CEO of the Public Health Institute. They discuss an overview of the Healthy People 2030 goals and how PHI is incorporating those objectives into its work. Dr. Pittman offers tips for state-led organizations and health departments on how to engage stakeholders in adopting the Healthy People 2030 framework. 

In this week’s episode of Podcast from Washington, NACCHO government affairs team members Ian Goldstein and Adriane Casalotti discuss NACCHO’s comments on the draft text release of the PREVENT Pandemics Act. They also discuss the Republican-led Healthy Futures Task Force request for information on how to address major public health issues and NACCHO’s response.

Later in the program, Ian Goldstein speaks with NACCHO CEO Lori Tremmel Freeman about NACCHO’s goals for the year and lessons learned in 2021. They also discuss how NACCHO continues to support local health departments through the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, they discuss local health department activities and their ability to juggle multiple public health crises. 

In this week’s episode of Podcast from Washington, NACCHO government affairs team members Ian Goldstein and Adriane Casalotti discuss the Senate reintroduction of the bipartisan Strengthening the Public Health Workforce Act (S. 3506). They give an update on the FY2022 appropriations process, as the deadline for federal funding under the current continuing resolution expires on February 18. They also discuss the Biden Administration’s plan to distribute masks and at-home COVID-19 tests, and the nomination of Dr. Robert Califf as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  

Later in the program, Ian speaks with Lindsey Sullivan, Director of Health Promotion for AppHealthcare at the Appalachian District Health Department, and Angela Graham, Executive Administrator at the Center for Health Equity at the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness, to discuss the Resilience Catalysts program. They discuss how their local health department got involved in the project and how participation in the project built resilience in their communities. 

In this week's episode of Podcast from Washington, NACCHO government affairs team members Ian Goldstein and Eli Briggs discuss the latest funding announcements from the administration from the American Rescue Plan Act. They also discuss the latest Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) roll back of LGBTQ regulations from the Trump administration.

Later in the program, Ian spoke with members of the New York State Association of County Health Officials about their partnership with the Region 2 Public Health Training Center on their report In-Progress Review of local health departments' response efforts to COVID-19. The team discusses lessons learned from the pandemic and a series of recommended actions for departments, county governments and New York State.

In this week’s episode of Podcast from Washington, NACCHO government affairs team members Ian Goldstein and Eli Briggs discuss President Biden’s first address to Congress. They also discuss the FDA decision to prohibit the sale of menthol flavors in tobacco products, and the Biden Administration’s latest guidelines for medication-assisted treatment.

Later in the program, Ian speaks with Dr. Nisha Nataraj, a statistician on the  Applied Research, Evaluation, and Integration team in the Division of Overdose Prevention at the CDC, and Dr. Mark Roberts, professor of Health Policy and Management at the University of Pittsburgh. They discuss their collaborative effort to build the Framework for Reconstructing Epidemiologic Dynamics (FRED) simulator for opioid use disorder and overdose, and how local health departments can use the FRED tool to simulate the disease progression of prescription and illicit opioid use disorder.